Rediscovering

the

Doctrines

of

Sovereign Grace

A study guide

Pastor Ronald A. Blankley

Bethel Christian Fellowship, Fair Lawn, NJ
USA

An Introduction

The Reformed Faith
is that body of Biblical teaching that was systematically set forth
by the Protestant Reformers of the sixteenth century. Because of the
towering impact of John Calvin, one of the principal architects of
the Reformation, it is often called “Calvinism.” Today,
the classic expressions of the Reformed Faith are found in the
Catechisms and Confessions of the Reformed Churches:

The Belgic Confession (Christian Reformed)

The Heidelberg Catechism (Christian Reformed)

The Canons of Dort (Christian Reformed)

The Westminster
Confession of Faith (Presbyterian)

The London
Confession of Faith (Baptist)

A
central theme that pervades the Reformed Faith is that salvation in
its entirety is the sole and sovereign work of God. This theme has
best been summarized by the use of the word TULIP (Total depravity,
Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace,
Perseverance of the saints):

Total
Depravity –Because of the
pervasive nature of indwelling sin, we are unable to do anything to
please, understand, or seek after God. Sin corrupts the heart, the
mind, and the will. If left to ourselves, we would never choose to
come to faith in Christ.

Unconditional
Election –Because of God’s eternal purpose, He has sovereignly
chosen certain individuals unto salvation before the foundation of
the world. This choice to save His people is not conditioned
upon anything that God has foreseen in man, including his faith.

Limited
Atonement – God’s purpose in the incarnation
and atonement of Christ was to save His people from their sins. His
death was not intended to atone for every human being, for then
either He would have failed, or everyone would be saved.

Irresistible Grace – The
Holy Spirit invincibly draws us to Christ. Since we were dead in sin,
and unwilling because unable to trust in Christ, faith is entirely a
gift of God.

Perseverance
of the Saints – The Holy Spirit not only brings us
to Christ, but keeps us in Christ. Saving faith is continuing faith;
hence, none of the elect can ever fall from grace so as to be lost.

In
stark contrast to this teaching is the viewpoint that was set forth
by the Dutch theologian, Jacobus Arminius (1560 1609) and his
followers. Known today as “Arminianism,” this view denies
the basic principles of the Reformed Faith (TULIP). One goal of this
study, therefore, “is to set forth…the basic differences
between the Calvinistic and Arminian systems of theology, and to show
what the Bible teaches concerning these subjects” (Loraine
Boettner, The Reformed Faith, p. 1).

But
there is a greater goal in view—it’s to help restore a
proper view of God’s majesty and glory in the outworking of our
own salvation. In the words of James Montgomery Boice:

The starting point for any system of doctrine ought to be the greater
glory of God. This is why, in and of themselves, the Five Points are
not the heart of Calvinism; they simply serve to explain distinc­tive
aspects of Reformed soteriology (i.e., the theology of salvation).
However, all five points do flow from the heart of Calvinism,
which is a passion for God’s glory. Each doctrine draws
attention away from what human beings can accomplish, in order to
declare, “Salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2:9, kjv).
(The Doctrines of Grace, p. 33)

He then
goes on to explain how these five points of doctrine can do just
that:

This is one place
where the doctrines of grace can help us, because together they show
that God really does save sinners. We are dead in our sins, and
therefore can do nothing to save ourselves, but together the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit have done and will continue to do
everything that is necessary for our salvation: choosing, redeem­ing,
calling, and preserving. Thus the one point of Calvinism that the
Five Points aim to demonstrate (and which Arminianism tends to deny)
is that every aspect of salvation is the absolutely gracious work of
the totally sovereign God. To him be the glory forever! (The
Doctrines of Grace, p. 34)

“Praise, my
soul! adore, and wonder!

Ask! ‘oh,
why such love to me?’

Grace hath put me
in the number

Of the Saviour’s
family:

Hallelujah!

Thanks, eternal
thanks, to thee!”

God’s Sovereignty

As we saw in
our last lesson, a central theme that pervades the Reformed Faith is
the sovereignty of God in the salvation of man. According to the
Calvinist, God’s sovereignty “represents the purpose of
the Triune God as absolute and unconditional, independent of the
whole finite creation, and originating solely in the eternal counsel
of His will. He appoints the course of nature and directs the course
of nature down to its minutest details.” (Boettner, The
Reformed Faith,p. 2)

With
respect to salvation, that simply means that those whom God has
willed to save will be saved. If His will to save you was absolute
and independent of anything about you, then there was nothing that
could have defeated His will to save you—including your will.
“Any system which teaches that the serious intentions of God
can in some cases be defeated, and that man, who is not only a
creature but a sinful creature, can exercise veto power over the
plans of Almighty God, is in striking contrast to the Biblical idea
of His immeasurable exaltation by which He is removed from all the
weaknesses of humanity.” (Boettner, p. 4)

Perhaps
the clearest teaching to this effect comes from our Lord Himself. On
a number of occasions in John’s Gospel He refers to a group of
people whom the Father has given to the Son (6:37,39; 10:29;
17:1 2,6,9,24). In each case, the giving of these people to
Christ is said to be the reason for their receiving eternal life.
What is of special importance is what Jesus says about how those
whom the Father has given to Him will come to Him. Based upon John
6:37 40, 44, 65, we can look at this in terms of “the
three impossibilities” (taken from C. Samuel Storms, Chosen
For Life, pp. 65 66).

The
First Impossibility (6:44,65) – It is spiritually
and morally impossible for us to come to Christ apart from the
“drawing” of us by God the Father. It is simply not
within our nature to want to come to faith.

The Second Impossibility (6:37) –It is impossible for someone whom the Father “draws”
not to come to Christ. In other words, just as it impossible for us
to come to Christ if the Father does not draw us, so it is also
impossible for us not to come to Christ if the Father does draw us.

The
Third Impossibility (6:37) – It is also impossible
for those who come to Christ through the drawing of the Father to
ever be cast out. The point is that those whom the Father gives to
the Son, and who, therefore, come to the Son, will be received by the
Son and shall never perish.

This
certainty of salvation for the “given-by-the-Father-to-the-Son”
person is reaffirmed in verses 38 40. He will surely be saved
because that is the will of the Father, a will that the whole of
Christ’s person and work was designed to accomplish. What did
Jesus come to do? He came to do the Father’s will (v.38). What
is the Father’s will? His will is that all those whom He has
given to the Son be fully and finally saved (vv. 39 40). For the
Calvinist, that is God’s sovereignty in man’s salvation!

“Why am I made to hear your voice,

And enter while there’s room,

When thousands make a wretched choice,

And rather starve than come?

’Twas the same love that spread the feast

That sweetly drew us in;

Else we had still refused to taste,

And perished in our sin.”

—Isaac Watts

Man’s Totally Helpless Condition

With
this lesson we begin to examine the Biblical basis for the first of
the five doctrinal statements within the Reformed Faith, namely, the
total depravity of man (the “T” within the TULIP). It is
upon this doctrine that every other doctrine will be built. If, for
example, one does not believe that the Bible teaches total depravity,
then the notion of unconditional election becomes not only
unnecessary but unfair.

It is
not surprising then to realize that this doctrine is the fundamental
point of dispute between Arminians and Calvinists. For the real issue
is not the nature of God and His will, but the nature of man
and his. Is our will “free” or “fettered”
(bound in sin)? In light of the doctrine of total depravity, the
Calvinist affirms the latter.

By the
term “total depravity,” the Reformed Faith does not teach
that man is as “bad” as he can possibly be. It teaches,
rather, that he is as “bad off” as he can possibly be.
Total depravity simply means that the whole of the individual—his
heart, soul, spirit, and will—is affected by and
enslaved to sin. Perhaps a better term to describe this condition
would be “pervasive depravity” or “extensive
depravity.”

With
respect to the Gospel, this means if left to ourselves we will
invariably and inevitably reject the truth. The inclination of our
hearts, the delight of our souls, and the orientation of our wills is
to say “no” to Christ. When a man is confronted with the
Gospel, the Reformed Faith does not teach that he cannot will;
rather, it teaches that he cannot will well. We are unwilling to
embrace Christ because we are unable. Listen to the words of C. H.
Spurgeon:

“I might preach to you forever; I might borrow the eloquence of
Demosthenes or of Cicero, but ye will not come unto Christ. I might
beg of you on my knees, with tears in my eyes, and show you the
horrors of hell and the joys of heaven, the sufficiency of Christ,
and your own lost condition, but none of you would come unto Christ
of yourselves unless the Spirit that rested on Christ should draw
you. It is true of all men in their natural condition that they will
not come unto Christ.” (Free Will a Slave, pp. 17 18)

But as
articulate as that preaching may be, what do the Scriptures say? The
following are just some of the more important passages that confirm
the total depravity of man: Gen. 6:5; 8:21; Job 14:1, 4; 15:14 16;
Jer. 13:23; 17:9; John 6:44, 65; Romans 3:10 18; 5:6 11;
8:5 8; 1 Cor. 2:14; 2 Cor. 4:3 4; Ephesians 2:1 3;
4:17 19; 2 Timothy 2:25 26.

For
the Calvinist, therefore, the only remedy for man’s totally
helpless plight is obvious: “Nothing, absolutely nothing can
rescue him from that condition. Hence if he is to be rescued, God
must take the initiative, must pay the penalty for him, must cleanse
him from his guilt, and so reinstate him in holiness and
righteousness.” (Boettner, The Reformed Faith, p. 7)

“I sought the Lord, and afterward I knew

He moved my soul to seek him, seeking me;

It was not I that found, O Saviour true,

No, I was found of thee.”

Divine Election

As
surprising as it may seem, all Bible believing Christians agree
that the doctrine of election is a Biblical doctrine. Be they
Calvinists or Arminians, they agree that God has “chosen”
to save a group of people from eternity past and that these people
are called the “elect.” Both will tell you that this
teaching appears throughout the pages of the New Testament, in view
of the clear testimony of the following verses: Matthew 22:14; 24:22,
24, 31; Mark 13:20, 22, 27; Luke 18:7; Acts 9:15; 13:17, 48; Romans
8:29, 30, 33; 9:11; 11:5, 7, 28; 1 Corinthians 1:27, 28; Ephesians
1:4, 5, 11; Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4; 2 Thess. 2:13; 2
Timothy 2:10; Titus 1:1; James 2:5; 1 Peter 1:1; 2:9; 2 Peter 1:10; 2
John 1, 13; Revelation 17:14.

If
this is the case, then what is the point of dispute? In a word, it is
the basis of God’s choice: on what grounds are some
elected to eternal life while others are not? In answer to that
question, the Arminian has one answer and the Calvinist another:

The
Arminian View: God elects to eternal life those whom He
foresees will respond in faith to the Gospel. In other words, they
are chosen because they believe in Christ. This view is called
“conditional” election since God’s choice to save
some is conditioned upon their choice to exercise faith in Christ.

The
Reformed View: God elects to eternal life those who cannot
respond in faith to the Gospel because of the pervasive nature of
sin. Therefore, God elects to save some in order that they shall
believe in Christ. The basis of this choice lies in God’s
own sovereign good pleasure and will, not anything He sees in man.
Hence, this viewpoint is called “unconditional” election.
(The “U” in the TULIP.)

In support of this latter viewpoint, the Reformed Faith offers the
following lines of evidence:

The
Doctrine Of Total Depravity – “…if
total depravity and the resultant bondage of the human will are true,
election must be unconditional, or else no one would ever be saved”
(Storms, Chosen For Life, p. 43). In other words, because of
the extensive effects of sin, no one is able to meet the “conditions”
of faith and repentance.

Note
the Arminian response: Certainly there are Arminians who affirm total
depravity and who believe in human inability, but they also believe
in what they call “prevenient” or enabling grace:

Since mankind is hopelessly dead in trespasses and sins and can do
nothing to obtain salvation, God graciously restores all men
sufficient ability to make a choice in the matter of submission to
Him. …In His foreknowledge He perceives what each one will do
with this restored ability, and elects men to salvation in harmony
with His knowledge of their choice of Him. (Henry C. Thiessen,
Lectures in Systematic Theology, pp. 344 45)

Faith
And Repentance: Gifts Of God –In
the New Testament, faith and repentance are not presented as the
fruits of “free will,” but as the gifts of God’s
grace. Therefore, they cannot be the conditions upon which election
is based, since they are not within man’s power to produce.
They flow from God’s sovereign grace. Note especially Ephesians
2:8 10; Philippians 1:29; 2 Peter 1:1; Acts 5:31; 11:18; 2
Timothy 2:24 26.

Clear
Biblical Texts – There are a number of Biblical
passages which di­rectly teach and support the Reformed view of
unconditional election. Among the more important ones are the
following:

John
6:37 40; 44, 65; 10:14 16; 24 30; 17:1 2, 6, 9,
24.

Within
these verses, election is described in terms of the Father giving
certain persons to the Son (6:37, 39; 10:29; 17:1 2, 6, 9, 24).
These are the ones who will come to Christ (the elect) and who are
also called His “sheep” (10:27 29). The question
is this: How does one enter the ranks of the elect, that is,
become one of the sheep? Does he become a sheep (a member of the
elect) by believing in Jesus? Or does he believe in Jesus because he
already is one of the sheep? The answer of Jesus is clear:
“You do not believe, because you are not my sheep”
(10:26). If election were conditioned upon foreseen faith, Jesus
should have said the opposite: “You are not my sheep because
you do not believe.” Faith, therefore, is the fruit of God’s
electing grace, not the condition upon which it is suspended.

Acts
13:44 48 –Here we are told
that there were certain individuals who were “appointed to
eternal life” (13:48). Were they appointed to life because they
believed? Or did they believe because they were appointed to life? It
seems that Luke’s answer is clear. He does not say, “and
as many as believed were appointed to eternal life,” but
rather, “as many as had been appointed to eternal life
believed.” Again, faith is the fruit of God’s electing
grace, not the condition.

Romans
9:6 23 – These verses were written to solve a
problem posed by verses 1 5. In those verses, the question that
Paul is addressing is this: If Israel is God’s covenant people,
why are so few Israelites saved? In answer to that question, Paul
describes a divine principle according to which God always operates.
That principle is set forth in verses 6 13 and is this: “When
God determines who shall and who shall not enjoy His blessings, be
they earthly or heavenly, He does so according to His sovereign good
pleasure and not according to anything in men” (Storms, p. 80).
That principle is then applied to the election of individuals to
eternal life, specifically Isaac (vv. 7 9) and Jacob (vv.
10 13). The whole point of this passage is that election is not
conditioned upon any human considerations but rests solely in the
sovereign and gracious purpose of God! What follows is a lengthy
explanation of this principle (vv. 14 23) in which Paul sets
forth the conclusion to the entire issue: “So then it does not
depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has
the mercy” (v. 16). For the Calvinist, nothing could be more
clear; election unto eternal life is not conditioned upon anything in
man, but is based in God’s sovereign good pleasure and will.

God’s Foreknowledge

There are two passages in particular that are crucial to our
understanding of divine election: Romans 8:29 30 and 1 Peter
1:1 2. The reason is not hard to discover. Both passages teach
that God’s choice to save us was according to His
“foreknowledge” or based upon those whom He “foreknew.”

Undoubtedly,
these are two of the most important passages that are used to support
the Arminian concept of “conditional” election: if God
has chosen us to eternal life, it is only because He has “foreseen”
or “foreknown” that we, of our own free will, would
choose Him. Hence God’s choice of us is “conditioned”
upon our choice of Him.

But as we have already seen, this interpretation assumes what the
Bible denies, namely, that we of our own free will are capable of
saving faith. (I refer you again to the notes on total depravity.)
Here is R. C. Sproul’s commentary on the Reformed Faith at this
point:

John Calvin writes that if we mean by free will that fallen man has
the ability to choose what he wants, then of course fallen man has
free will. If we mean that man in his fallen state has the moral
power and ability to choose righteousness, then, said Calvin, free
will is far too grandiose a term to apply to fallen man. Man’s
will is free to follow his inclinations, but fallen man’s
inclinations are always away from God. (Table Talk, Sept. 1989, p.
31)

If, then, it is not our “freewill faith” that God
foreknows, what does foreknowledge mean? Fundamentally, the answer to
that question is determined by how the word “know” is
used throughout the Scripture. For whatever “know” means,
“foreknow” will merely add the thought of “beforehand”
to it.

The best explanation of this viewpoint comes from one of the leading
proponents of the Reformed Faith—John Murray:

Many times in Scripture “know” has a pregnant meaning
which goes beyond that of mere cognition. It is used in a sense
practically synonymous with “love,” to set regard upon,
to know with interest, delight, affection, and action (cf. Gen.
18:19; Exod. 2:25; Ps. 1:6; 44:3; Jer. 1:5; Amos 3:2; Hosea 13:5;
Matt. 7:23; 1 Cor. 8:3; Gal. 4:9; 2 Tim. 2:19; 1 John 3:1). There is
no reason why this import of the word “know” should not
be applied to “foreknow” in this passage, as also in 11:2
where it also occurs in the same kind of construction and where the
thought of election is patently present (cf. 11:5,6). It means “whom
he set regard upon” or “whom he knew from eternity with
dis­tinguishing affection and delight” and is virtually
equivalent to “whom he foreloved.” (The Epistle to the
Romans, p. 317)

With this understanding, then, God’s foreknowledge
becomes yet another reason why those within the Reformed Faith
believe that election is sovereign and “unconditional.”
How might this understanding of God’s foreknowledge enhance our
appreciation and gratitude for our own salvation?

The Universalistic Passages

Without question, a major objection that is often leveled against the
doctrine of election is the universal terminology of Scripture. Two
passages in particular are most often mentioned: 1 Timothy 2:3 4
and 2 Peter 3:9. The first declares that God desires “all”
men to be saved and to come to the know­ledge of the truth. The
second states that God is “patient toward you, not wishing that
any should perish but for all to come to repentance.”

How, then, do those within the Reformed Faith understand
these passages (and others like them)? The answer in each case lies
within the immediate context of the passage itself.

1 Timothy 2:3 4 –
The best explanation has been offered by Paul Jewett:

The affirmation that God “desires all men to be saved
and to come to the knowledge of the truth” clearly depends upon
a larger context—in this case the Pauline exhortation that his
readers pray for all, specifically “kings and all who are in
high positions,” since such behavior is “acceptable in
the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved.”
Since the first century Christians were largely from the lower
classes, many of them being slaves, this admonition to embrace the
upper classes in their prayers is understandable. It is possible,
then, to construe the text as focusing on the thought that God
desires the salvation of all classes… (Election and
Predestination, p. 104)

The context, then, would seem to indicate that the “all
men” of verse 4 is to be understood in the same way as the “all
men” of verse 1—not “all men without exception”
(everyone), but “all without distinction.”—In other
words, God desires to save “all kinds” of men: Jews and
Gentiles, slave and free, men and women, rich and poor, young and
old, etc. How does this understanding shed light on verses 5 6?

2 Peter 3:9 –
While it is possible to interpret “all” in this passage
in the same way as in 1 Timothy 2:4, there is probably a better
expla­nation. Again Paul Jewett writes that this text…

need mean no more, in its immediate context, than that the Lord
delays His coming not from negligent inattentiveness but out of
longsuffering toward His people. He is not willing that any of
them should perish, for, as Jesus says in another place, it is
His Father’s will that he lose none of all that He has given
him (John 6:39). Were one to suppose such an interpretation, then the
text of 2 Peter 3:9 expresses the thought of the familiar hymn:

Bring near thy great salvation,

Thou Lamb for sinners slain,

Fill up the roll of thine elect,

Then take thy power and reign.

—Alford

(Election and Predestination, 104 5)

Christ’s Atonement

Assuming
that the Bible teaches unconditional election, there are two
important questions that must be asked concerning Christ’s
atonement. The first concerns the nature of the atonement:
what did Christ accomplish in His death? The second concerns the
purpose of the atonement: for whom did He do so? Did He die to
make the salvation of all men “possible,” or did He die
to actually redeem men?

For
those within the Reformed Faith, the answer to the first question
(what did Christ accomplish?) determines the answer to the second
(for whom did He do so?). For if, in fact, Jesus Christ was offered
as a full payment for the penalty of men’s sins (the nature
of the atonement), and He did so for all men’s sins
(the extent of the atonement), then how is it possible to
still deny a universal salvation?

As we
shall see, it is really not possible. Hence, the Reformed
Faith teaches that Christ’s atonement was “limited”
in purpose to the elect (the “L” within the
TULIP). Perhaps a better term would be “particular”
redemption, in that this doctrine teaches that Christ purposed to
save a particular group of people, namely, His sheep (John 10:14-16;
24-30).

The
Biblical line of evidence in support of this understanding is
twofold:

The
Nature Of The Atonement: What Did Christ Accomplish In His Death?

In
light of the following Scriptures, the only Biblical
explanation is that of “penal substitution:” Isaiah 53:6;
2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24.

“Penal”
substitution – This term emphasizes that Christ was
“punished” by a holy and righteous God. That is, He
suffered the full and complete judgment of God against sin in that
God’s wrath was fully poured out upon Christ. As a result,
God’s justice is forever satisfied, and He is free to redeem
sinners. (Rom. 3:25; 1 John 2:2; 4:10; Hebrews 2:17)

Penal
“substitution” – This term emphasizes
that when Christ was punished, He took the place of (exchanged
positions with) sinners such as I. As a result, my guilt before God
(Rom. 3:19) and obligation to punishment (Rom. 6:23) has been
discharged and removed.

The
Extent Of The Atonement: For Whom Did Christ Die?

Because
of the nature of penal substitution, it is impossible to conclude
that those for whom Christ paid this price, whose guilt He removed,
should ever be lost on account of that guilt. The teaching that
Christ died for the purpose of saving all men logically leads to
universalism, that is, to the doctrine that all men will actually be
saved.

No one
has put this better or more plainly than John Owen, the great English
Puritan and theologian. In his classic treatise, The Death of
Death in the Death of Christ (1647), he has offered what is
perhaps the most conclusive refutation of a universal atonement ever
written:

God imposed His wrath due unto, and Christ underwent the pains of
hell for, either (1) all the sins of all men, or (2) all the sins of
some men, or (3) some sins of all men. If the last, some sins of all
men, then have all men some sins to answer for, and so shall no man
be saved. If the second, that is it which we affirm, that Christ in
the stead and room suffered for all the sins of all the elect in the
world.

If the first, why are not all free from the punishment of all their
sins? You will say, ‘Because of their unbelief; they will not
believe.’ But this unbelief, is it a sin, or not? If not, why
should they be punished for it? If it be, then Christ underwent the
punishment due to it, or not. If so, then why must that hinder them
more than their other sins for which He died from partaking of the
fruit of His death? If He did not, then did He not die for all their
sins? Let them choose which part they will.

Here’s
the point: “If Jesus died for all the sins of all men, unbelief
included, then all are saved, which the Bible denies. If He
died for all the sins of all men, unbelief excluded, then He
did not die for all the sins of anybody and all must be condemned.
There is no other position, save that He died for the sin of His
elect people only.” (Boice, The Doctrines of Grace, p.
125)

Here are
some representative texts (emphasis added):

Isaiah
53:8. “For the transgression of my people he
was stricken.”

Matthew
1:21. “You are to give to him the name Jesus,
because he will save hispeople from their sins.”

Mark
10:45. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be
served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Luke
1:68. “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come and has redeemed his people.”

John
10:11. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd
lays down his life for thesheep.”

John
13:1. “It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus
knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the
Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now
showed them the full extent of his love.”

John
17:1-2,9. “Glorify your Son, that your Son may
glorify you, for you granted him authority over all people that he
might give eternal life to all those you had given him…I
pray for them. I am not praying for the world.”

Acts
20:28. “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock
of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the
church of God, which he bought with his own blood.”

Romans
8:32. “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave
him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him,
graciously give us all things?”

Galatians
3:13. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of
the law by becoming a curse for us.”

Ephesians
5:25. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ
loved the church and gave himself up for her.”

Revelation
5:9-10. “And they sang a new song: ‘You
are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were
slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from
every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them
to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will
reign on the earth.’”

Christ’s
Atonement:

An Appendix

The
Problem Texts

Broadly
speaking, there are two types of passages that have led people to
believe that Christ died for everyone. How do we go about harmonizing
these verses (and others like them) with the doctrine of particular
redemption, or a limited atonement?

Passages
In Which The Work Of Christ Seems To Be Intended For The Whole World

1. John 1:29;
3:16; 4:42; 1 John 2:2

2. Romans 5:18;
2 Corinthians 5:14-15; 1 Timothy 2:5-6

3. Hebrews 2:9

Passages
In Which It Is Suggested That Some People For Whom Christ Died Will
Perish

1. Hebrews
10:28-29

2. 2 Peter 2:1

What can be said about both types of passages is that they either
have to be viewed in the overall context of the entire book
(i.e. the use of the term “loved” in John’s
gospel/epistles or the purpose of the warning passages in the book of
Hebrews) or the immediate context of the verses in question
(i.e. 1 Timothy 2:5-6). In most of these cases, the context does
indeed limit the scope of the terms that are used to a particular
class of people, versus all people universally.

Second Peter 2:1 is especially problematic for some, for it does
appear to teach that those who have actually been redeemed by the
blood of Christ can perish. But since the context points to the fact
that Peter has “false teachers” in view who teach
“destructive heresies,” these cannot be saved people who
perish, but rather unsaved people. The best approach, therefore, is
to think of Peter describing them in terms that they are claiming for
themselves. They claim that the Sovereign Lord has “bought
them,” but in reality, He has not.

A Final Word

Unless a
person is a genuine universalist and believes that everyone
eventually will be saved, he or she must limit the atonement one way
or another. Either it is limited in its effects (Christ died for all,
but not all get saved), or it is limited in its scope (Christ did not
die for all, but all for whom He did die will be saved.) Charles
Spurgeon developed this line of thinking one step further, arguing
that those who affirm a universal atonement (Christ died for all) are
the ones who actually limit the atonement. Here is what he said:

We are often told that we
limit the atonement of Christ, because we say that Christ has not
made a satisfaction for all men, or all men would be saved. Now, our
reply to this is, that, on the other hand, our opponents limit it: we
do not. The Arminians say, Christ died for all men. Ask them what
they mean by it. Did Christ die so as to secure the salvation of all
men? The say, “No, certainly not.” We ask them the next
question—Did Christ die so as to secure the salvation of any
man in particular? They answer “No.” They are obliged to
admit this, if they are consistent. They say, “No. Christ has
died that any man may be saved if”—and then follow
certain conditions of salvation. Now, who is it that limits the death
of Christ? Why, you. You say that Christ did not die so as infallibly
to secure the salvation of anybody. We beg your pardon, when you say
we limit Christ’s death; we say, “No, my dear sir, it is
you that do it.” We say Christ so died that He infallibly
secured the salvation of a multitude that no man can number, who
through Christ’s death not only may be saved, but are saved,
must be saved and cannot by any possibility run the hazard of being
anything but saved. You are welcome to your atonement; you may keep
it. We will never renounce ours for the sake of it.

(Charles Haddon Spurgeon, quoted by J. I. Packer in his “Introductory
Essay” to John Owen, The Death of Death in the Death of
Christ, p. 14)

The Certainty Of Divine Grace

In
this study we are asking the question, “How and why do we come
to Christ in salvation?” Although many answers have been given,
our starting point is the answer that Jesus Himself gives: “No
one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.”
(John 6:44)

From
the Reformed perspective, this “drawing” by the Father to
the Son is a supernatural work of God’s grace that inevitably
brings the elect to saving faith. It was Jesus who also said, “All
that the Father gives Me shall come to Me…” (John
6:37) For that reason, this is the doctrine that has been called
“irresistible grace”. (The “I” within the
TULIP.) It has also been termed “effectual calling”,
because all those whom the Spirit calls to salvation come to faith in
Christ (cf. Rom. 8:30). In the words of James Montgomery Boice:

This means that God’s grace will not be frustrated, that the
plan of salvation will come to a perfect completion, and that Jesus
Christ will not have died in vain. This teaching necessarily belongs
with those looked at earlier, for it is part and parcel of that
Reformed system of doctrine which holds to the Biblical teaching on
man’s total spiritual depravity and the necessity of God’s
electing grace. (The Gospel of John, Vol. 2, p. 173)

As we
consider this teaching, it is important to distinguish two “callings”
that are emphasized in the New Testament:

The
External Call – This is the general call of the
preacher, declaring to all the plan of salvation, commanding all to
repent, and offering the promise of eternal life to all who believe.
Cf. Matthew 22:1 14; note especially verses 3 and 14.

The
Internal Call – This is that special calling from
the Holy Spirit which moves upon the heart of the elect, bringing
them to faith in Christ. Cf. Romans 8:28 30; 1 Corinthians 1:2;
2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; 2 Timothy 1:9-10; 1 Peter 2:9; 5:10; 2 Peter
1:10; Revelation 17:14.

The
reason why this internal call is limited to the elect, and therefore
effectual in nature, is three fold: (a.) the elect are the
called, and the called are the elect (Rom. 8:28,30; Rev. 17:14). (b.)
The calling is based upon election (2 Thess. 2:13 14; 2 Tim.
1:9 10). (c.) All saving benefits are always linked with calling
(1 Cor. 1:2; Rom. 8:30; 2 Peter 1:10,11).

Chapter
X of the Westminster Confession, titled “Of Effectual Calling,”
focuses upon this work of divine grace in a very comprehensive
manner:

All those whom God has predestinated unto life, and those only, he is
pleased, in his appointed and accepted time, effectually to call, by
his Word and Spirit, out of that state of death, in which they are by
nature, to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ; enlightening their
minds spiritually and savingly, to understand the things of God;
taking away their heart of stone, and giving them a heart of flesh;
renewing their wills, and by his almighty power determining them to
that which is good; and effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ, yet
so as they come most freely, being made willing by his grace.

Two
beautiful illustrations of effectual grace at work, which also
illu­strate what God has done to bring us to Christ, are
(1) the Parable of the Great Supper (Luke 14:16 23); (2) the
conversion of Lydia (Acts 16:11 15). By way of application, how
do both magnify God’s grace in our own lives?

The Perseverance Of The Saints

As we have
already seen, there are a number of occasions in John’s Gospel
where Jesus describes a group of people who have been given to Him by
the Father (John 6:37, 39; 10:29; 17:1 2, 6, 9 ,24). As we have
also seen, it is precisely because they have been given that they
inevitably come to believe in Him (John 6:37, 44, 65).

But
there is one more truth that Jesus emphasizes about all those who
have been given to Him — they will never perish. For He also
teaches that He will “raise them up on the last day”
(John 6:39, 40, 44) and that “no one shall snatch them out of
My hand” or “out of My Father’s hand” (John
10:27 29).

With
this emphasis we are introduced to the final point of doctrine
with­in the Reformed Faith — the eternal security of the
believer or the perseverance of the saints (the “P”
within the TULIP). Some have preferred to call this the “preservation
of the Savior”, for it is only as the Savior preserves that the
saints persevere.

In
coming to a clear understanding of this doctrine, it is important to
first understand what it does not teach. It does not teach
that every professing believer is secure for eternity no matter what
his/her practice may be. Why? Because the clear teaching of the New
Testament is that saving faith is continuing faith, apart from which
“no one will see the Lord” ( Heb. 12:14; cf. Hebrews 3:6,
14; Col. 1:21 23). John Murray summarizes this well when he
writes:

It is not true that the believer is secure however much he may fall
into sin and unfaithfulness. Why is this not true? It is not true
because it sets up an impossible combination. It is true that a
believer sins; he may fall into grievous sin and backslide for
lengthy periods. But it is also true that a believer cannot abandon
himself to sin; he cannot come under the dominion of sin; he cannot
be guilty of certain kinds of unfaithfulness. And therefore it is
utterly wrong to say that a believer is secure quite irrespective of
his subsequent life of sin and unfaithfulness. The truth is that the
faith of Jesus Christ is always respective of the life of
holiness and fidelity. (Redemption Accomplished And Applied,
p. 154)

What
the doctrine of perseverance does teach us is that there are
certain things that cannot occur in the life of a genuine
believer: (1) because God secures the salvation of all believers, we
cannot be lost or perish eternally. (John 10:27 29; Rom.
8:28 30; 1 Peter 1:3 5) (2) Because God enables all
believers to continue in their faith, we cannot fall away from
the faith or apostatize (1 John 2:18 19). (3) Because God saves
all believers from their sin, we cannot continue to live in
sin (Rom. 6:1 11; cf. 1 John 3:9 10; 5:4, 18).

In summary, then, not only does the Bible teach the final
perseverance of the saints, it also teaches that the saints are those
who finally persevere! Continuance is the test of reality.